Huskies knock off New London

As the throw went to first base, Kelsey Hora reached third.

The New London throw to first appeared to be bobbled ever so slightly, and without hesitation, Hora was sprinting home.

?I knew I had to get in there,? Hora said. ?I was going for it no matter what.?

The error at first led to Cheyann Adamson crossing first base safely, and Hora representing the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth.

Abbie Miller?s second RBI of the game sent home Adamson, and Highland took an insurmountable lead against the ranked Tigers, as the Huskies defeated New London 3-1 on Friday night.

?I don?t coach Kelsey on the bases at all,? Highland softball head coach Carrie Wieland said. ?She reads things so well that she?ll end up at places that I didn?t think she could be. We feed off of her, and her adrenaline gets going. When she gets on base, we are really tough to beat.?

The Huskies were assisted by a strong pitching performance from freshman Megan Hoenig, who tossed seven innings, allowing four hits and no walks.

?My changeup (was working) and I trusted my defense behind me,? Hoenig said. ?I was nervous, but my team supported me and encouraged me the whole game.?

The Huskies fell behind early in the game, as Carson McSorely scored on a passed ball in the third.

Highland responded in the fourth, with Miller notching an RBI double to score Adamson, before Hora broke the tie in the sixth, giving Highland the win.

New London?s ace Morgan Christner allowed seven hits in the game, striking out eight.

?We knew coming in that (Morgan Christner) was going to pitch a good game against us,? Wieland said. ?That?s the best pitcher we?ll see for a long time, and she?s not even 100 percent.?

Highland took part in a weekend tournament on Saturday, where they dropped a pair of games, falling 11-0 to Davenport West and 6-5 to Iowa City High.

In the game against City High, Miller notched three RBIs, while Adamson also drove in a pair of runs.

?We are halfway there,? Wieland said. ?I don?t want them to be content with that, and understand that that  was a really good team we just beat. We are OK staying out of the rankings, and if everyone keeps playing the way we are capable, we are going to be a hard team to beat.?

Highland will take on Louisa-Muscatine at home on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.